From Minitel to Apple Watch: Students’ use of online translation services and pedagogical solutions for second language learning 

Errol O’Neill, University of Memphis 

Since Gachot’s translation service launched on Minitel in the mid-1980s, the availability and quality of online translators (OTs) has continued to increase. Second language instructors’ strategies for dealing with student use of these tools have varied, from a “detect and punish” approach to increased tolerance or acceptance of OT usage. Given the ubiquity of online translation, the fact that a large majority of students already use OTs, and the near-impossibility of preventing their use, a pedagogically-sound, research-based solution would be to train students in how best to use (or not use) OTs to promote technology practices that are more responsible and beneficial to their learning.